The last few days have been rough.
E is teething really hard and has been really irritable for the last four days or so. At least I’m assuming he’s teething. In addition to being ornery and shrieking or crying at the drop of a hat (or at me daring to tell him no, he cannot play with that glass bowl/permanent marker/expensive stereo/sharp knife) he has been trying to chew on everything in sight. A few times he’s actually stuffed his fingers in his mouth and gnawed on them, something he’s never done before.
I’m just not use to it and it’s wearing me out. Sometimes he’ll be fine for 20, 30 minutes and I’ll be lulled into thinking he’s feeling better but then something will set him off and he’ll rocket from placid to wailing in a second. I’m hoping that it’s just his teeth bothering him and it’s not that after 14 months of being easygoing he’s simply decided it would be more fun to be a jerk.
I am really looking forward to N being home for the weekend so we can tag team the little howler.
Don’t forget to get guards for his cribs. I only did the front of Liam’s crib, and now there are teeth marks on the side rails.
I sure do hear you! The crankiness can really get under your skin… Both my babies did “turn” on me around that age (though my daughter thought she’d start at 12 months). She is teething too, though, but that just contributes to her moodiness. These are the terrible two’s, basically, where it is developmentally appropriate for them to be disagreeing with you in every manner. One thing that has really helped me cope with it is knowing that this is about them self-asserting, so I can help them do it appropriately (without driving me bonkers). I give them choices (e.g wanna eat the apple or the banana?) and I create situations in which they can do it themselves (e.g. let my daughter decide where to keep her sippie cup of water so she can help herself when she needs it). Good luck, and just keep in mind that out of this will arise a pretty amazing person with their own personality!